Review of Wolves at Our Door (1997) by Facebook U — 05 Jun 2014

For years, humanity has feared wolves and envisioned them into horror stories. Jim Dutcher set out to prove humanity wrong about wild wolves because hunting wolves was very popular and he wanted to show people that they are kind creatures who deserve to live. Jim was very upset that wolves were going extinct and he wanted to voice his opinions so he lived with his wife, the wolves, and other researchers in a 25-acre observation camp. Jim ended up creating a documentary that beautifully shows wolves as family-oriented individuals instead of eerie creatures.

Jim had been filming wildlife for years and decided to closely observe the behavior of wolves. Jim found wolves to be friendly, clever and intuitive. The pack was also a well-knit group with everyone having a position in the family. The pack began with one wolf brought in from another research facility and then pups were integrated into the family. Jim filmed the wolves and raised them alongside his wife, Jamie Dutcher, who did the audio for the film. Jim and Jamie took care of the pups and kept a close eye on them to see how the pack would react to pups. Throughout their years of research, Jim and Jamie found a lot of details about wolf life that had not been uncovered due to humans being fearful of wolves.

Jim and Jamie performances were very heartfelt. It was obvious they truly cared for the wolves and were curious about them. The audience gets a close look at how much Jim and Jamie work with these animals and care for them through interviews and voiceovers. We see them care for pups, play with the bigger wolves as well as feed them and watch the wolves with tears in their eyes. Jim cried when they left, and Jamie was upset to see them leave. The wolves were very friendly and cuddly with both Jim and Jamie, which was very surprising and heart-warming to see. The story of the wolves living alongside Jim and Jamie was brilliant and interesting the whole way through, especially when you realize as an audience member that this was the first instance in which wolves had been researched so closely.

The film was successful on its portrayal of wolf life; however, it did lack a sense of the wolves' natural life because these wolves were not regular wolves out in the wild. Because these wolves were desensitized to humans and were not hunting for themselves as wild wolves do there is an integral part missing of the wolf life. However, there is no other way to capture wild wolves on film so I respect Jim and Jamie for their decisions to live with the wolves although the wolves would never be able to integrate into wild life. By making this decision they were able to observe the wolves, and give the world a closer look at these amazing creatures.

A few of the observations made of the wolves were also a little vague, for example when the narrator talks about the pups and says "as if foreshadowing the more severe competition to come, the puppies clash over a food bowl as if it were a fresh kill." There are numerous of these ambiguous narrations throughout the film and don't carry facts so be weary of these. At a later time, the narrator says "the pups yield immediately, presenting their vulnerable undersides as a sign of complete submission," which is obviously an opinion and doesn't ring true. (Some of these get to be pretty ridiculous so take a listen.).

I appreciated the range of shots of the wolves; there was a lot of footage that was put together very creatively to show the lives of wolves without being too boring or excessive. There was also great sound mixing of wildlife as well as Jamie's recordings of the wolves themselves. In one scene she lets the audience hear the recordings and she expresses how beautiful they are to her and she also knows which sounds come from what wolf. It is obvious that she put a lot of time and effort into the sounds because they are an integral part of the film that helps add a sense of realism and nature to the documentary.

Although there were parts of the film I didn't like such as the vague narrations and the fact that the wolves weren't really "wild wolves" and they are not a representation of wild wolves, the film was very well put together. The downsides of the film are noticeable but forgivable because of the wonderful core story of Jim and Jamie's love and friendship for the wolves. Hopefully you can overlook the flaws of the film as well and follow Jim and Jamie along on their journey with their much-loved Sawtooth Pack.

If you are a wolf or nature fan then I highly recommend this movie and if you are not a wolf or nature fan I still recommend it because it has a great story that is created through beautiful sound mixing and great images. It is a heartwarming story about two people trying to help out an almost extinct species by giving the world a closer look at them. When else do you get a chance to watch wolves grow and learn as well play with each other and interact with humans? It really is a beautiful and surreal thing to witness.